Wednesday, February 18, 2015

Now that same-sex marriage has pretty much become inevitable in the United States, and is indeed reality in the majority of states, a frantic backlash has begun to emerge. New proposals, bills and laws--filled with obvious, naked animus--have been popping up like weeds. The fact that these proposed "fixes" to the perceived problem are quite obviously extremely mean spirited, anti-American, and blatantly unconstitutional doesn't seem to stem the tide.

At the root of all of this is hatred, which has been wrapped in religion, excused by it, in fact. These legislators and their supporters will steadfastly insist that this is "different" from the way interracial couples used to be treated. They'll rhapsodize about how wrong it was to treat different races with discrimination, and then excuse the very same behavior toward gay couples. They drag God and religion into the mix, when in fact, this has nothing to do with their religion at all. It's a manufactured, phony, artificial complaint. Only knee-jerk, fact-free "truthiness" gives it an air of credence at all.

Here's the deal: civil marriage isn't a religious issue in the first place. Though there are religions that are supportive of it (and hey, legislators, what about them?), religion is utterly beside the point. Civil marriage is a legal contract, as religious in nature at the clerk level as is a building permit or business license. The clerk's, officiant's or civil servant's participation in this contract hasn't got any more religious component than whatever the couple themselves bring to it (if any). It can't be against their religion, because it doesn't have anything to do with their religion.

It's not different. The hatred is the same.Image from America.gov.

Even less can be said for any wedding/formal industry professional selling a product or service. They are not participating in the event at all, they're selling a cake, a dress, renting a tux or reception hall, taking pictures or recording video. That's not "participating in," or "celebrating." It's doing their jobs. Moreover, there is no Biblical verse (and we're usually talking about Christian objections in this country) against selling a product or service to "sinners." By that book, we are all sinners, and by being in that industry, there is a 100% chance of selling to people who are not of the same exact faith as the seller.

The disingenuousness is really starting to make me crazy. For decades, centuries even, people have been getting married in all faiths, no faiths, mixed faiths. There are re-marriages, open marriages, marriages of convenience, shotgun weddings. In some states, cousins marrying, minors marrying, death row convicts marrying! But--horrors--gay people marrying? All of the sudden, bakers are so religiously delicate, they get the vapors at baking a cake for a customer. It. Is. A. Bogus. Issue.

It's a newly invented argument, to allow certain people to legally discriminate against others. And it's being disguised as "religious freedom." It doesn't hurt that it doubles as the fulfillment of the martyr complex many religious people seem to have. But to see elected officials trot out ridiculous legislation that seeks to fire people, punish people, and scream to the rafters "you're not the boss of me, US Supreme Court!?" Well, it takes balls, I'll give 'em that. But they're going to lose, they're going to lose big. And they are going to look really awful in retrospect. History will treat them like it treated the worst bigots of the Civil Rights Era.

[Excerpt]Bills targeting same-sex marriage advanced by Oklahoma House panel Bills discontinuing state marriage licenses and forbidding state and local government employees, including judges, from complying with federal rulings on same-sex marriage advanced from the Oklahoma House of Representatives Judiciary Committee on Tuesday. . .